Welcome to the Saturday Morning Physics Website!
Your Donation is Much Appreciated!
Click on this link for the Winter 2025 Saturday Morning Physics schedule in mid-January to discover stimulating, educational, and family-friendly scientific events!
Each lecture begins promptly at 10:30 AM and runs until 11:30 AM, with a half-hour Q&A afterward. Our full schedule can also be seen below (as information is available):
February 22: Breaking Bias, Building Bots: The Intersection of DEI and Robotics
Oluwami Dosunmu-Ogunbi, Visiting Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology)
Robots do exactly what we tell them, but building machines that truly serve everyone requires diverse perspectives. This talk explores how robots work, how we control them, and why diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential to shaping the future of robotics.
March 15: Physics Extra-VAN-Ganza (Family-Friendly)
Various Student Demonstrations
Various demos will be showcased in the talk and others available at stations in the hallway of 170 and 182 Weiser Hall (U-M Physics and Applied Physics)
TBA
March 29: TBD
April 5: The Ins and Outs of Spectroscopy
Theodore Goodson III, The Richard Bernstein Collegiate Professor of Chemistry (U-M Chemistry)
TBA
April 12: VanLoo Family SMP: Graduate Student Research Presentations (U-M Physics/Applied Physics)
Otávio Aves and Emilie LaVoie-Ingrahm (Physics Department)
Jared Mitchell (Applied Physics)
About Saturday Morning Physics
Physics is a fundamental science and provides the foundations for solving both cosmic mysteries and practical problems. In 1995, the University of Michigan Department of Physics began sharing some of the latest ideas in the field with the public in the Saturday Morning Physics lecture series.
Designed for general audiences, the lectures are an opportunity to hear physicists discuss their work in easy-to-understand, non-technical terms. The multimedia presentations include hands-on demonstrations of the principles discussed, along with slides, video, and computer simulations.
Saturday Morning Physics in-person lectures or online lectures!
Lectures are held in 170 & 182 auditoriums in Weiser Hall (low-rise)
500 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Parking is available at the Church Street Parking Structure for $10.00/car with only credit cards accepted.
Event Details
The Saturday Morning Physics lecture series is free to all. We are hosting in-person and virtual talks this winter. Please join our mailing list for more information.
How to Receive Information about Upcoming Programming
If you would like updates on this series, sign up to be placed on the Saturday Morning Physics mailing list. Due to monetary constraints, we would like to send you programming information via email only.
Sponsors
The Saturday Morning Physics program is sponsored by:
The Dr. Mary Lois Tiffany Endowment by Dr. O. Lyle Tiffany and Dr. M. Lois Tiffany who were the first to support the Saturday Morning Physics program in May, 2000.
The Hideko Tomozawa Endowment in memory of Hideko Tomozawa in recognition of her interest and loyal participation in the Saturday Morning Physics program.
The Van Loo Family Endowment to support outstanding University students who present public lectures at Saturday Morning Physics.
Friends of the Program-Donations of all sizes are needed to keep this program alive!
How to Donate
Donations to the Saturday Morning Physics Program help fund these informative academic presentations. Show your support for the program by donating online.
U-M Staff and Faculty can donate to Saturday Morning Physics by using University Payroll Deduction on Wolverine Access. Please use designation #365045.
You may also make cash, check, or credit card donations at each Saturday Morning program. Please stop by the back greeting table to pick up a donation slip.
Remember, donations to SMP are tax-deductible in the year in which they are given.
View SMP Lectures
Learn how to view the Saturday Morning Physics talks after the lecture date.
Information about previous SMP talks can be found in the Past Events section of this website.
Download your group photo from the 10/7/23 event with Josh Cassada!
Articles about the Josh Cassada event:
NASA astronaut shares his experience in space with UM physics class
NASA Astronaut Josh Cassada discusses space station mission in UM talk (Pictorial)
NASA Astronaut Shares Experience of Spacewalks and Near-Impact Incident with UM Physics Class
